Brooklyn has sparked some theories about tanking for the top pick in the NBA draft. How does the Nets' leading scorer feel?
The Brooklyn Nets continue to trend toward landing a top-five pick or the No. 1 selection in this year's NBA draft. But that sparks theories from fans that the franchise are delivering "tanking" efforts.
How does Michael Porter Jr. feels about the label? For that matter, what's his take on tanking?
Porter spoke about the issue before losing to the Detroit Pistons during his appearance Saturday on the "Emily Austin Show." He didn't mince words about his true feelings involving the "T" word.
“They gotta do something about this tanking situation," Porter began. "I don't like how teams are deliberately trying to tank to get a good draft pick."
Is he helping to deny his team is doing it?
“I just think that throwing full NBA seasons down the drain is not the way to go," Porter added. "It's not very ethical to the game."
Brooklyn is linked to names like AJ Dybantsa (BYU), Darryn Peterson (Kansas), Cameron Boozer (Duke) and, in recent weeks, Kingston Flemings (Houston) as draft possibilities. Some fans are already envisioning one of those names on the back of a Nets uniform next season.
But Porter reminded Austin of another reason why fans look forward to watching an NBA game.
"People pay a lot of money to watch the best players in the world compete, and you want to see teams competing to their fullest ability every single night," Porter said. "When teams do the stuff that they are doing nowadays, it can be tough."
Although Porter can sympathize with teams that are pivoting toward a reset season -- especially ones hit with a litany of injuries. Still, Porter is a non-endorser of tanking.
“I understand for teams rebuilding, but I think there's an ethical way to do it and a non-ethical way," Porter said. "So hopefully they can change it. I just feel like the best players should be on the floor night to night."
His Nets team entered Tuesday on a two-game winning streak, which may help silence some tanking chatter. Brooklyn and Porter even pulled the upset against the Pistons Saturday after entering as a 14-point underdog.
But Porter's Nets took a massive beatdown inside Barclays Center for the rematch, with the Pistons trouncing the Nets 138-100.
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